


Unfamiliar

by Lanceeselhombre



Series: Semi-verbal Autistic Keith [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Autistic Keith (Voltron), Bathing, Canon Compliant, Disruption of Routine, Gen, Nudity, POV Keith (Voltron), Sensory Overload, Shiro (Voltron) is a Good Sibling, Stimming, Vivid sensory descriptions, autistic author, nonverbal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-05 18:34:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17330279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lanceeselhombre/pseuds/Lanceeselhombre
Summary: It’s the team’s first night on the castle of lions.Keith isn’t handling the change so well.





	Unfamiliar

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first work in a new series I’m starting! I hope you guys enjoy! 
> 
> If you would like to request additions to the series, feel free to contact me on my social media accounts (in my bio.)

Keith paced in a circle in the center of the bedroom he’d been led to on the Altean ship, as he had been for the last ten minutes. It was supposed to be his now, but it wasn’t.  _ His _ bedroom was back on earth, in  _ his _ shack in  _ his _ desert, not on this castleship where everything was new and unfamiliar.  _ His _ home was dark and quiet. Everything smelled like him and he knew where everything was. This place was too bright and noisy. Everything smelled like a hint of cleaner that burned his nose. He didn’t know how to get anywhere outside of this small white box the aliens considered a bedroom. 

 

He just got back from his first fight in a robot lion, which was also supposed to be his. He was still wearing the suit of armor that matched, soaked to the bone in sticky sweat. It felt uncomfortable, being in clothes that weren’t  _ his _ . He couldn’t make himself take it off, though, knowing it would feel absolutely disgusting to peel away from his skin. So he kept it on. 

 

The teen kept his arms bunched up close to his sides with his hands curled into fists under his chin. The pressure coming from a source that was familiar helped chase away how bad everything else felt. His pacing helped too, but not as much. 

 

It wasn’t okay, but walking in steady circles and pressing in on himself, not thinking about anything that happened recently, was okay enough. 

 

The bedroom door swishing open broke his focus. He didn’t look to see who it was. He kept his head down, away from the lights, watching the path he was walking along the floor. 

 

Someone walked up to him, and he bristled internally.  _ Don’t touch me.  _ He hated being touched. It made his skin feel like it was melting. 

 

Thankfully, they didn’t. “Do you want a bath?” It was Shiro. He knew Shiro. Usually he couldn’t be around people without melting down when he felt like this, but his brother understood how to not be overwhelming. Keith could handle him. 

 

He nodded. “I’ll be in the bathroom.” Shiro said, his presence disappearing into another room. Keith noticed a door open that wasn’t there before. The bedroom was darker than before too. 

 

He refocused on pacing in the other’s absence and forgot that he was supposed to be getting ready for a bath. Then Shiro’s voice returned. “It’s bath time.”

 

Keith tried to stop walking in a circle and obey, but it was hard. He liked repetition. He knew what to expect from it. Stopping meant no more expectation, no routine; it was the only thing left that made sense. He was scared to leave it. 

 

“It’s bath time.” 

 

Keith trusted Shiro to keep him safe. With a lot of effort, he was able to break out of his circle and walk into the bathroom. He stopped in the middle of the room and immediately stood on his toes. Without his pacing to numb his feet the floor felt bad. He didn’t want to touch it. He rocked his knees, unable to stay still. If he stopped moving, all the bad stuff would catch up to him and smother him. 

 

Shiro closed the door. “Can i help you get undressed?” 

 

The teen pointed to the white pieces of the armor and the zipper. He only wanted help with those. Shiro nodded and helped him take off the armor pieces and unzipped the suit. Keith yanked the clothes off quickly, groaning loudly at the sticky scrape of it coming off his hands and feet. He flapped his hands to get rid of the disgusting feeling. He hated touching fabric.

 

“Toilet first.” Shiro prompted, and Keith immediately shook his head. The toilet was cold and hard and loud and overwhelming. “Can you try?” 

 

Keith shook his head again.  _ I don’t want to.  _

 

“What if you stand and don’t flush?” 

 

He didn’t like that either, but it was better. He stood in front of the toilet and used it, leaning forward so he didn’t have to aim. His palms burned too much, even when he flapped them. He finished and backed away from the toilet, noticing he felt better, not as overwhelmed.

 

“Thank you. Do you want to sit on the mat for your bath?” Shiro asked. Keith looked at the mat and felt it with his toes. It was soft and warm, so he sat down. 

 

Shiro sat in front of him as well. He took a washcloth and dunked it in a basin full of warm, soapy water and rung it out. Keith willingly held out one of his arms for his brother to gently wipe down, then the other. He flapped his hands restlessly while Shiro cleaned the rest of him, focusing on the soft feeling of the cloth and trying to let it calm him. 

 

The bath was over quickly, and Shiro stood to dump the water in the tub and hang the washcloth to dry. “What do you want to wear to bed?” He asked.

 

Keith pointed to his own chest.  _ My clothes _ . They were the only thing he could tolerate wearing. Everything else felt scratchy and horrible. 

 

“Your clothes are being washed. How about something else?” The teen glared up at his brother and tensed. He knew he didn’t like clothes that weren’t his. “I know Keith, I’m sorry. I’ll try to find something that feels like velboa or fleece.” 

 

He reluctantly nodded, and Shiro went into the bedroom to search for clothes. While he was gone Keith stood and went back to pacing in a circle and pressing his arms into his sides to distract himself. He was feeling better now that he was clean, but was still overwhelmed by how unfamiliar everything was. 

 

Shiro came back at some point with a single shirt in his hands. “Is this okay?” He asked as he held out the shirt for him to touch. Keith was hesitant to touch it, worried it would feel scratchy, but he knew Shiro wouldn’t offer for him to touch something he knew would feel bad. 

 

He rubbed the fabric between his fingers. It was smooth and soft like thick silk, not exactly what he preferred but something he could wear. He nodded and took the shirt, slipping it on over his head. His skin prickled at the unfamiliar material even though it was an okay texture. It wasn’t his, didn’t give him any comfort. 

 

“Do you need anything before bed?” Shiro asked. Keith shook his head. “Okay. It’s time for bed.” 

 

His brother led him back to the bedroom and pulled back the covers on the bed. “The blankets are cotton.” He warned. 

 

Keith laid down on the bed on his belly, needing to feel some pressure on his chest. The sheets and blankets were tolerable, but still felt wrong because they weren’t his. He would much rather be sleeping on the couch in his shack, with the blankets he’d owned for years. 

 

Shiro wrapped him in one of the blankets tightly, and he instantly felt calmer. He rubbed his face on the pillow contently in response to the pressure stim. His brother sat on the edge of the bed and stayed while he waited for him to fall asleep, something he found comforting.

 

The castleship wasn’t home, but Shiro was. Having him there helped even when everything else was wrong. 

 

Soon, he fell asleep. 


End file.
